This talk was recorded
at the Institute for Critical Animal Studies Oceania 2016 Conference in Canberra.
You can find out more information about this conference here: http://www.criticalanimalstudies.org/oceania-conference/
You can listen to other
talks from this conference here.
You can also listen to a recap of the conference
on episode 152 of
Progressive Podcast Australia.
Below is further information
about the talk from the conference booklet, available here: http://www.criticalanimalstudies.org/booklet/
Transgender Awareness and the Law
CASSANDRA GIUDICE
Transgender people are amongst the most disadvantaged people in society. This has been recognised by the High Court of Australia. In many respects, the recognition of the legal rights of transgender people has lagged behind the recognition of same sex attracted people. Slowly, the law and bureaucracies are responding to make the lives of transgender people more liveable. Passports in ones true gender are now easier to get. Victoria has just passed laws allowing gender diverse people to change their sex on their birth certificate without
undergoing a medical procedure.
Cassandra Judychair's Transgender Awareness Training talk is aimed at those people who are not familiar with the ins and outs of interacting with transgender people in many different contexts and behaving in a respectful fashion. This includes things such as basic terminology, correct pronouns and what not to ask. Her talk provides insights into the challenges, issues and opportunities of being "born in the wrong body."
Cassandra draws on her experience as a criminal lawyer and Australian Politics tutor and lecturer to engage and educate her audiences whilst never missing an
opportunity for references to popular culture . Cassandra's lived experience as a transgender woman as well as working for marginalised people in areas such as
Broken Hill and Mt Druitt make her an articulate and effective advocate for the rights of transgender people. She set up and runs the group Transgender Awareness
Australia which functions as a safe space for Transgender people. She currently works as a trade union advocate and regularly performs her own witty compositions in the Inner West of Sydney.
